Cette thèse vise à combler une lacune de la connaissance sur les effets systémiques des outils de contrôle de gestion dans son acception de pilotage organisationnel. Elle se repose sur une étude ethnographique longue de plus de 3 ans, réalisée dans une direction de ligne d'une entreprise européenne de transport ferroviaire Eurorailway. Elle montre qu'une direction de ligne a utilisé successivement deux ensembles d'outils de pilotage pour gouverner, conduire et animer les entités internes contributrices à la production ferroviaire. D'abord un ensemble d'outils de la contractualisation dans une relation horizontale avec ses entités internes; ensuite un autre ensemble d'outils de pilotage par la hiérarchie dans une structure verticale. Leurs cohabitations, concurrences et affrontements ont généré des effets systémiques complexes sur les individus, les processus et pratiques organisationnels et in fine sur la performance: des effets de congruence bénéfiques dans certaines pratiques, absence d'effets dans d'autres pratiques et des effets néfastes par leurs interactions. Éclairée par la théorie de la pratique de Schatzki qui contourne l'opposition gênante entre le déterminisme fonctionnaliste et les critiques psycho-sociologiques, notre recherche montre que leurs effets réels ne peuvent se comprendre qu'en lien avec la pratique de gestion qui les mobilise. / This dissertation contributes to the limited body of knowledge on systemic consequences of management control tools, also to the limited body of research on management control as system by mobilizing management tools as an analyzer of organizational phenomena. Based on an ethnography case study in a large European railway company, this research finds that this organization utilizes successively two packages of management tools for the governance of internal entities involved in the production of services delivered ta passengers: the first one based on the levers of customer/supplier relationship, the second one by hierarchal levers. The systemic effects generated by these packages of management tools are complex, some are beneficial, other are neutral, and some are even harmful to the performance. By applying Schatzki's practice theory which circumvents the unhelpful opposition between the functionalist determinism and the sociological/psychological critical approaches, we argue that the systemic consequences of management tools can only be apprehended in the practice where they are used. Mobilizing management tools as an analyzer of organizational phenomena offers a new vista to study management control as a system.

Submitted by Geyciane Santos (geyciane_thamires@hotmail.com) on 2015-10-27T15:32:55Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Felipe de Oliveira Santos.pdf: 1371804 bytes, checksum: 92ff0353280906c9be4f6a2470a05f0d (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Divisão de Documentação/BC Biblioteca Central (ddbc@ufam.edu.br) on 2015-10-27T20:23:13Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Felipe de Oliveira Santos.pdf: 1371804 bytes, checksum: 92ff0353280906c9be4f6a2470a05f0d (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Divisão de Documentação/BC Biblioteca Central (ddbc@ufam.edu.br) on 2015-10-27T20:37:24Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Felipe de Oliveira Santos.pdf: 1371804 bytes, checksum: 92ff0353280906c9be4f6a2470a05f0d (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-10-27T20:37:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Felipe de Oliveira Santos.pdf: 1371804 bytes, checksum: 92ff0353280906c9be4f6a2470a05f0d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-10-28 / Não Informada / The system of managerial control (SCG) is shaped by the environment and by contingent factors that surround, and the structure of the SCG and the artifacts of managerial accounting using depend on the ability to adapt the internal factors to changes in the environment. The goal of the research is to assess the influence of contingent factors about setting and changing the system of managerial control of a group for classifying it as descriptive case study, bibliographic, documentary, qualitative and quantitative survey. The target population of the survey were the directors and managers of a group for the North region of Brazil, with 70 years of existence and 22 companies, having been validated 28 questionnaires. Were used Cronbach's alpha, descriptive statistics and structural equation modeling (MEE). The results indicated that the economic group faces a scenario with high level of complexity and diversity and that the most important strategies are speed in delivery, effective after-sales service, the broad distribution channel and low-cost production, in addition to the heavy use of financial and non-financial indicators, with decisions based on the goals of the planning. The economic group is proud of the social and environmental actions that undertakes, positioning within the Organization of sustainable best practices, using the marketing in favor of appreciation of your image and brands. It was concluded that: (i) the internal contingencies influence the SCG configuration; (ii) the internal contingencies has low influence on the changes in SCG, which occurs indirectly through the SGC configuration; (iii) the configuration of the SGC and the environment have a direct influence on the mutation of the SCG; (iv) external factors have little influence on the occurrence of internal contingent factors; (v) external contingent factors not directly influence the SCG configuration of the economic group. / O sistema de controle gerencial (SCG) é moldado pelo ambiente e pelos fatores contingenciais que o cercam, sendo que a estrutura do SCG e os artefatos de contabilidade gerencial usados dependem da habilidade de adaptação dos fatores internos às mudanças do ambiente. O objetivo da pesquisa é avaliar a influência de fatores contingenciais sobre a configuração e mutação do sistema de controle gerencial de um grupo econômico, classificando-se como descritiva, estudo de caso, documental, bibliográfica, de levantamento, qualitativa e quantitativa. A população alvo da pesquisa foram os diretores e gerentes de um grupo econômico da região Norte do Brasil, com 70 anos de existência e 22 empresas, tendo sido validados 28 questionários. Foram usados alfa de Cronbach, estatística descritiva e modelagem de equações estruturais (MEE). Os resultados indicaram que o grupo econômico enfrenta um cenário com alto nível de complexidade e diversidade e que as estratégias mais importantes são a velocidade na entrega, o efetivo serviço de pós-venda, o canal de distribuição amplo e a produção a baixo custo, além do uso intenso de indicadores financeiros e não financeiros, com decisões fundamentadas sobre as metas do planejamento. O grupo econômico tem orgulho das ações sociais e ambientais que realiza, posicionando a organização entre as de melhores práticas sustentáveis, usando o marketing em favor da valorização de sua imagem e marcas. Concluiu-se que: (i) as contingências internas influenciam a configuração do SCG; (ii) as contingências internas tem baixa influência sobre as mutações do SCG, o que ocorre de maneira indireta por meio da configuração do SCG; (iii) a configuração do SCG e o ambiente possuem influência direta sobre a mutação do SCG; (iv) fatores externos pouco influenciam na ocorrência dos fatores contingenciais internos e; (v) os fatores contingenciais externos não influenciam diretamente na configuração do SCG do grupo econômico.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:32:52Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Paulo Henrique Lopes Viana.pdf: 853384 bytes, checksum: cea6a7706a6bee5e44ab0082898d0a53 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-06-09 / This paper investigated the associations between the usage of management reports for managers of business units from a retail company, the effectiveness of decisions and performance. To do this, we adopted the Mahama and Cheng (2013) model to measure the perceived benefits on usage of management reports, Widener (2007) to measure the intensity of usage of reports and cost of attention, and Baum and Wally (2003) to measuring the speed of decisions. We have also performed a quantitative analysis of the data obtained by combining survey data with historical data of the company. The results showed that there is a positive and significant statistical relationship between the perceived benefit of management reports and the intensity of their usage and the intensity of usage is positively associated with taking a more rapid, efficient and comprehensive decision. Moreover, most decision speed is related to improved financial performance and greater coverage of the decision is negatively associated with non-financial and financial performance. The main limitation of this study lies in the fact that the survey reflects the reality of a particular organization, so any generalizations should be avoided. Moreover, the results suggest that the company should invest in spreading the benefits of the use of management reports as a way to improve organizational performance. / Esta pesquisa estudou as associações entre o uso dos relatórios gerenciais por gestores das unidades de negócios de uma rede varejista, a eficácia das decisões e o desempenho. Para tanto, adotou-se o modelo Mahama e Cheng (2013) para se medir a percepção de benefícios do uso dos relatórios gerenciais, Widener (2007) para se medir a intensidade do uso dos relatórios e custo da atenção, e Baum e Wally (2003) para se medir a velocidade das decisões. Realizou-se também uma análise de dados quantitativa, combinando dados obtidos por survey com dados históricos da empresa. Os resultados apontaram que há uma relação estatística positiva e significante entre a percepção de benefício dos relatórios gerenciais e a intensidade de seu uso e que a intensidade de uso está positivamente associada a uma tomada de decisão mais veloz, eficiente e abrangente. Ademais, a maior velocidade de decisão está relacionada a melhores desempenhos financeiros e a maior abrangência da decisão está negativamente associada ao desempenho não financeiro e financeiro. A principal limitação do trabalho repousa no fato de que a pesquisa reflete a realidade de uma organização específica, portanto deve ser evitada qualquer generalização. Por outro lado, os resultados sugerem que a empresa deve investir na divulgação dos benefícios do uso dos relatórios gerenciais como forma de melhorar o desempenho organizacional.

The aim of this thesis is to evaluate management control system in a company and pro-pose measures for better use of management control system as a subsystem of manage-ment of the company supporting the achievement of business objectives of the owners in the changing market environment. Thesis consists three main parts. The first theoretical part contains information about management control system. Analysis of the current state of management control system describes state of the management control system in a company and in the last section are suggestions for possible improvements of man-agement control system.

This dissertation is composed of three research papers that deal with the topic of “accounting and innovation” and provide evidence for the area of innovation from two accounting perspectives, i.e., the external disclosure perspective and the internal management control system perspective. The disclosure perspective is addressed in the first paper. Using content analysis, it examines the innovation capital disclosure characteristics, i.e., disclosure quantity and quality, in intellectual capital statements of 51 European for-profit firms. Additionally, the relationship between innovation capital disclosure characteristics and industry, firm size, region of domicile, and disclosure guidelines adopted are analyzed. The second and third paper address the management control system perspective. The second paper contributes to the research on management control systems in product development by exploring the performance effects and the interplay of the levers of control, i.e., interactive, diagnostic, beliefs, and boundary control systems, based on data from a survey of 468 senior managers from the manufacturing industry. Therefore, I compare by structural equation modeling a base model of unrelated levers of control (additive model) with (a) a model of mutual association of levers of control (interdependence model), (b) a model of joint use of levers of control (interaction model), and (c) a combined model of mutual association and joint use of levers of control (combined interdependence/interaction model). The best fitting and most parsimonious model is analyzed in terms of the performance effects of the levers of control. Based on the sample of the second paper, the third paper contributes to the recent literature on the relationship between management control systems and innovation by considering how the four levers of control are used as “packages” in product development. I employ cluster analysis to determine how the levers of control are combined, depending on the type of strategy formation (i.e., intended or emergent) and the degree of innovativeness of the firm. Furthermore, I explore which of these combinations are equifinal in terms of product development and organizational performance.

Hållbarhet har på senare tid fått en större betydelse för företag då allt fler lägger större fokus på det. Det innebär att inte enbart de ekonomiska fördelarna beaktas i företagen utan även miljömässiga och sociala effekter. I takt med att hållbarhetsaspekten fått en ökad betydelse har fokus skiftat till hela försörjningskedjan istället för det enskilda företaget. Det är därmed viktigt med samspel mellan företag i försörjningskedjan för att främja hållbarheten. Företag behöver anpassa sig utefter sina kunder och integrera hållbarhet i verksamheten. Genom att företag i en försörjningskedja arbetar process- och gränsöverskridande kan det stödja hållbarheten. Kunden är en primär intressent för leverantören vilket gör att företaget kan skapa kundvärde genom hållbarhet. Genom att företag integrerar hållbarhetsaspekter som ligger i linje med kundernas behov kan det skapa kundvärde. Det har däremot visat sig att intressenter kan uppleva brister i företags miljömässiga och sociala arbete. Ett problem som kan uppstår är därmed utmaningar i att utveckla samarbete mellan gränserna. Företag står inför risken att förlora kunder om de inte svarar på kundernas krav om hållbarhet utifrån försörjningskedjan. Det kan vara av betydelse för företag att även integrera hållbarhet i deras verksamhetsstyrning. Det har visat sig att företag inte förstår hur de exempelvis ska kommunicera med kunden och anpassa sig efter kundens behov för att skapa kundvärde. Det kan även vara utmanande för företag att integrera hållbarhet i verksamhetens strategi på grund av att det påverkar verksamhetsstyrningen. Det krävs att företags verksamhetsstyrning förändras då organisationer väljer att integrera hållbarhet vilket visat sig vara problematiskt. Företag behöver därmed anpassa sin verksamhetsstyrning för att hantera hållbarhet. / Sustainability has recently become more important for companies as more people put more focus on it. This means that not only the economic benefits are taken into account in the companies but also the environmental and social effects. As the sustainability aspect has become more important, the focus has shifted to the entire supply chain instead of the individual company. It is therefore important for companies to interact with each other in the supply chain to promote sustainability. Companies need to adapt to their customers and integrate sustainability into their operations. Furthermore, when companies in a supply chain are working across processes and borders, it can support sustainability. The customer is a primary stakeholder for the supplier, which means that through sustainability, the company can create customer value. By integrating sustainability aspects that are in line with customers' needs, companies can create customer value. On the other hand, it has been shown that stakeholders may experience absence in companies' environmental and social work. A problem that can arise is thus challenges in developing cooperation between borders. Companies face the risk of losing customers if they do not respond to customers' demands for sustainability. It can be important for companies to integrate sustainability into their strategy. It has been shown that companies do not understand how, for example, they should communicate with the customer and adapt to the customer's needs to create customer value. It can also be challenging for companies to integrate sustainability into the business strategy because it affects their management control system. It is required that companies' management control system changes when organizations choose to integrate sustainability, which proves to be problematic. Companies thus need to adapt their business management to manage sustainability.

Bakgrund: I en konkurrenskraftig miljö med föränderliga villkor krävs en tillämpning av sofistikerade styrverktyg inom ett företags ekonomistyrsystem. Verksamheten PostNord AB har i och med en bolagisering och avreglering genomgått en strukturomvandling men har fortfarande ett statligt uppdrag samtidigt som de konkurrerar med helt kommersiella företag. Problemdiskussion: PostNord AB får i dagsläget inte önskad effekt på styrning i verksamheten då det brister i förhållning till budgeten. Detta har utmynnat i en diskussion kring relationen mellan budget och prestationsmätning och dess styreffekter i organisationen. Syfte: Studiens syfte är att kartlägga PostNord ABs ekonomistyrsystem med särskilt fokus på budget och prestationsmätningar och dess styreffekter i organisationen. Vidare är syftet att ge rekommendationer på förändringar av dagens styrsystem, vilka kan ge en förbättrad styreffekt inom PostNord AB - Region Växjö. Metod: Studien innefattar en fallstudie som forskningsdesign. Insamlingen av empiriskt material har skett genom intervjuer, dokument och observationer. Intervjuerna har utförts semi-strukturerat och respondenturvalet har skett utifrån ett kedje- samt lämplighetsurval. Resultat: Problemområden beträffande ekonomistyrsystemets styreffekter har identifierats där förbättringsförslag rörarande företagets mest kritiska områden har rekommenderats. Dessa innefattar en nedtoning av budgeten till förmån för prestationsmätningar, mål kopplade till mått, ökad kommunikation mellan nivåerna samt förhöjd motivation genom ökat deltagande. Slutsats: Marknaden som PostNord AB verkar på kännetecknas av tämligen fasta spelregler med en likartad infrastruktur för distribution. Avgörandet för företagets framgång beror på hur det på mest fördelaktiga sätt kan anpassa och maximera sin verksamhet efter rådande villkor. Detta talar för en ökad användning av processinriktade prestationsmätningar. / Background: In a competitive environment with changing conditions the use of sophisticated management tool are required within a company’s management control system. The company Post Nord AB has, with corporatisation and deregulation undergone a structural change, but still has a state-mandated while competing with fully commercial enterprises. Problems Discussion: Post Nord AB is in the current situation not receiving the desired effect on the control of the business when because of imperfections in the attitude to the budget. This has led to a discussion on the relationship between budget and performance measurement and its control effects in the organization. Purpose: The aim of the study is to map Post Nord AB’s management control system with particular focus on the budget and performance measurements and its control effects in the organization. A further purpose is to provide recommendations on changes to the current control system, which can enhance the control effect in Post Nord AB - Region Växjö. Method: The study includes a case study research design. The collection of empirical data were collected through interviews, documents and observations. The interviews were conducted semi- structured and the selection were based on a chain and suitability selection. Results: Issues concerning control effects of the management control system have been identified and improvement proposals have been recommended. These include a dimming of the budget in favor of performance measurements, goals related to measurement, increased communication between levels and enhanced motivation through increased participation. Conclusion: PostNord AB acts on a market characterized by fairly fixed rules with a similar distribution infrastructure. The essential for the company’s success depends on how it in most beneficial ways can customize and maximize their business to the prevailing conditions. This suggests an increased use of process-oriented performance measurements.

Inom ekonomistyrning utgår ekonomer oftast från att målöverensstämmelse existerar och att de anställda arbetar utifrån de uppställda målen med perfekt information. Men informationsasymmetri finns överallt och kan leda till ökade kostnader, att fel uppstår och försenade leveranser. Detta är särskilt intressant inom gruvindustrin eftersom den karakteriseras av komplexitet vilket ökar svårigheter med att förmedla styrningen. Frågan blir; under vilka förutsättningar uppstår informationsasymmetri inom styrning och målöverensstämmelse samt hur kan asymmetrin reduceras inom gruvindustrin? Syftet med examensarbetet blir därmed att öka förståelse och analysera hur informationsasymmetri påverkar ekonomistyrning och målöverensstämmelse inom gruvindustrin samt hur asymmetrin kan reduceras. Arbetet utgår ifrån principal-agent teorin som grundas på antaganden om informationsasymmetri och egen nyttomaximering. Utifrån den målkonflikten grundas hypoteserna om de begrepp som ökar och reducerar målöverensstämmelse genom ökad och minskad informationsasymmetri. De olika teoretisk begreppen som undersöktes var missanpassad information, opportunism, återkoppling, internutbildning och tid. Examensarbetet utfördes genom att använda oss av Cavaye (1996) modell för flerstudieansats (eng. Multifaceted research approach) där vi har först gjort Studie 1 som grundas på kvalitativa intervjuer för att få mer information om företaget och industrin. Sedan i Studie 2 testas begreppen genom en kvantitativ enkät som skickades ut till personer inom företaget utifrån ett strategisk urval. Resultatet från undersökningen var att hypoteserna bekräftades och att agenterna anser att målen är viktiga och internutbildning var de starkaste faktorerna för att reducera informationsasymmetri och öka målöverensstämmelse. / In management control systems economist usually assume perfect information and goal congruence from the top to the bottom of the organization. But information asymmetry is everywhere and often leads to increased costs, missed deadlines and other mistakes. This is particularly interesting in the mining industry as it’s characterized by complexity which increases the difficulty of communicating the control system throughout the organization. The research question then becomes; under which circumstances does information asymmetry occur in control systems and goal congruence and how can the asymmetry be reduced in the mining industry? The purpose of the study is therefore to increase the understanding and analyze how information asymmetry impact control systems and goal congruence in the mining industry and how the asymmetry can be reduced. The study is based on the principal-agent theory is based on the assumptions of information asymmetry and self-interest between the two parties. Based on that goal conflict our hypothesis of the variables that increase and reduce goal congruence through increased and decreased information asymmetry is formed. The investigated variables were miss adapted information, opportunism, feedback, workplace education and time. The study was conducted by using Cavaye (1996) model for multifaceted research approach by starting off with Study 1, which was based on qualitative interviews to get more information about the company and the mining industry. Study 2 later tested the variables impact by conducting a quantitative study though the use of a survey that was sent to people of interest within the company though a strategic selection. The result of the study was that the hypotheses were confirmed and that workplace education training and valuing the importance of the goals where the most important variables to reduce information asymmetry and increase goal congruence.